The Way Back
by Carrot Top
Summary: -Sequel to 'Return to Me!-After being reunited in Dallas, Paige Collins and Eric Northman decided to forgive the past and give their love a second chance. But not long after she moves to Shreveport to be with the Viking vampire, Paige begins to learn that things in Louisiana are more complicated than she realized. And that Eric might not be the same vampire she fell in love with.


**So…this happened!**

**I won't say much here because there's a super long author's note at the end, but I will say welcome to the sequel for Return to Me! If you haven't read the first part, I would suggest doing so (but it is possible to figure out what all went down as you go through this story). It's been a long time since I wrote RTM, but I still hope those of you who were with me as I wrote that story will return for its ****_long _****awaited sequel! **

**Oh, and a heads up. I'm follow the general storyline of the show, but I'm going to make changes to the timeline and plot here or there. Gotta mix it up, right? Also, the rating of the story MIGHT change, but that I'm not too sure of yet. We'll have to see!**

**Anywho…ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to True Blood.**

* * *

_Chapter One_

_Houston, Texas_

Paige Collins was making her way across the parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings when her cell phone started to ring. Instantly, a smile formed on her lips – _that _particular jingle sounding from inside her purse was set for only one individual in her contact list. It was a special jingle, a jingle that made her heart skip and a warm, happy feeling flood through her any time she had heard it over the course of the past few days.

Fishing the cell phone from her purse, Paige didn't bother checking who was calling before pressing _accept_. "You're up early," she said upon answering, smiling widely as she glanced toward the sun still steadily lowering into the pinky-orange horizon. "Couldn't sleep?"

"On the contrary, I was sleeping very well and having a _most _pleasant dream about you," replied a familiar voice, the smooth tone and hint of a faded Swedish accent sliding over her like a warm blanket. "I dreamt that you and I were together again and that you were coming to live with me in Shreveport," Eric proceeded to explain. She could practically hear the tiny smirk playing at the corner of his lips all the way back in Louisiana. "But then I remembered that it _wasn't _just a dream. That you _are _coming to live with me and that we _are _together again," he continued. "The thought made me so happy that I woke with the burning desire to see you…since the sun is still up, however, I will have to make do with hearing your voice instead."

Warmth flooded Paige's heart in response to his words. Slowing her pace as she neared the entrance to Buffalo Wild Wings, she leaned against a nearby post and, if possible, smiled even wider. Even though it had (thus far) been smooth sailing since they'd rekindled their relationship a handful of days ago, it was still a little surreal to hear him speaking to her in such an affectionate way. Especially so considering he had – more or less – spent the past year and four months hating her absolute guts.

"For a former Viking turned thousand-year-old ruthless vampire, you sure can be a sweetheart when you want to," she teased lightly.

At the exact moment those words left her lips, two women in their forties walked past, headed for the smoothie shop next door to the restaurant. At the word 'vampire' their interest was caught, and both immediately turned to look at her. The gaze of the woman closest to her then dropped to Paige's neck, where two small, healing puncture wounds were still visible above the neckline of her shirt – it was the bite mark Eric had left behind when he'd fed on her in Dallas. It took the stranger only a second to put two and two together; Paige was a woman who had willingly involved herself with a vampire. With a disapproving sniff of her nose and thoroughly disgusted look on her face, the stranger quickened her pace and hurried her friend along, the two practically kicking up dirt with their hasty retreat. They both took one last glance back, eyeing her as though she were infected with some contagious disease, before disappearing into the smoothie shop.

"Never tell anyone else that," Eric's voice sounded in her ear, bringing her attention back to their conversation. "Others may start to think I've gone soft. It will destroy my reputation in the vampire community."

Though the look from the woman had left Paige feeling awkward and, truth be told, rather offended, she pushed the feeling down as best as she could. People were going to judge her for being involved with a vampire, it just came with the territory – if she was going to share her life with Eric, she would have to get used to the negative attention their relationship would draw from narrow-minded idiots. "Don't worry," Paige said, focusing all her attention on Eric now, "your secret's safe with me."

"Good," Eric said in return. "So, how was your day?" He asked conversationally, changing the subject.

"Fine," she answered. "A bunch of my co-workers threw me and Gary a big going away party at lunch. They even got us a cake in the shape of Louisiana," Paige said, smiling at the memory for a moment – Gary Newman, her trusted partner at the C.A.V.D., had also decided to transfer to the Shreveport branch, for a '_change of scenery' _he had said. Really it was because he didn't want to lose her as a friend _or _partner, and since nothing was tying him to Houston, he'd decided to go with her. "It was weird, leaving for the day and knowing that the next time Gary and I go to work it'll be in a different place with totally different people," Paige admitted, running a hand through her red curls. "I'm actually a little bit…_nervous _about working somewhere new."

"You will do fine, Paige," Eric reassured her. "Look how well you did in Houston in barely a year and a half, and that was with _no _experience on your side," he then reminded. "You'll do just as well in Shreveport, of that I have no doubt."

Eric's support and his encouraging words helped to chase some of her fears away, but not completely. She could still feel a tiny little knot of anxiety in her stomach, a knot that had formed the moment she had put in her transfer request. "I hope you're right," she said with a sigh, doing her best to ignore the apprehension lingering in the back of her mind.

"I'm _always _right," Eric shot back, his tone taking on an all-too-familiar cockiness. Before Paige could point out that that was entirely untrue – she could think of plenty of times in the past when he had been completely _wrong_ – he spoke again. "Are you still having dinner with your brother tonight?"

"Yeah," Paige confirmed, glancing toward the restaurant that her brother was currently waiting for her in. "I'm meeting with him now. Since our _family _goodbye dinner was such a disaster, we thought we'd try a siblings-only goodbye dinner instead," she explained, rolling her eyes to the heavens at the memory.

She was, of course, referring to the disastrous family get together that had taken place at her townhouse two night previous. What had started out as a, _"let's get everyone together for dinner and actually act like a family for a night before I move states"_ gathering with her brother and their parents had quickly turned into a stage five family debacle. Her mother and father, who could hardly stand the sight of one another even after five years of being divorced, wasted hardly any time before they got up to their usual shenanigans and started throwing insults at each other. By the time they were halfway through their steak and shrimp dinner, the two were having a shouting match right at her kitchen table. Eventually Paige had reached the end of her patience and kicked them out; both had since called her to apologize, but so far Paige had ignored them.

"And you're _positive _you do not want me to come and meet your brother tonight?" Eric asked for what had to be the twentieth time since she'd told him about their dinner plans the previous night. "I would not mind the trip, and I would most certainly not mind spending time with _you_."

Paige chewed on her lower lip for a moment, more than a little bit tempted. Seeing as they had both been busy preparing for her move, she hadn't seen Eric face to face since she'd left Dallas four days ago. And while their frequent phone conversations helped ease some of the longing she felt, she still was very much yearning to see him. Yet in spite of that, the fact remained that they had only _just _gotten back together and were still trying to figure out where to go from there. Until things felt a little more normal between them, it seemed like a good idea to keep her brother – and the rest of her family, for that matter – out of the picture.

"I just…don't think it's the right time for you to meet Wes," she finally told him in a gentle tone. "I want you to eventually," Paige quickly clarified, so that he wouldn't think her past tendency toward being a bit of a commitment-phobe was the reason he hadn't been invited tonight, "but for now, I want it to just be you and me. There's a lot of lost time to make up for and a lot that we need to re-learn about each other – I'd much rather do that _without _my family hovering over us," she explained, hoping he would understand.

"Alright," Eric said after a moment. Paige was a little relieved when she didn't detect any anger or doubt in his voice, but she did feel a pang of guilt when she picked up on a hint of disappointment. "I can come by afterward then."

Paige's heart jumped at the idea of Eric coming over, as excited about the prospect of being alone with him as she was nervous. They had agreed to take things slow – as slow as two individuals moving in together could go, anyway – but given their past history, going slow just might prove to be difficult once they found themselves alone. "You _do _remember that I'm leaving for Shreveport in the morning, right?" She asked with a small laugh. "And what about work? Doesn't _Fangtasia_ need its fearless leader?"

"Ecstatic as I am that you are joining me in Louisiana tomorrow, I do not think I have the patience to wait an entire day to see you," he explained, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly tone. Paige shivered hearing it, knowing good and well what that tone usually meant. "As for Fangtasia," Eric continued, his voice returning to normal, "Pam is more than capable of running the club in my stead – she says hello, by the way," he added as an afterthought. "And she looks forward to seeing you."

Paige couldn't help but let out an un-ladylike snort. "No she didn't, and no she doesn't," she countered knowingly, absolutely certain Eric's progeny had said no such thing. Though she and Pam had tried to be as cordial as they could to each other in the past – purely for Eric's sake – they had _never_ been able to see eye-to-eye. There was no doubt in Paige's mind that Pam had not been happy to hear Eric had taken her back and that the vampire was _not _looking forward to having her around again. "Pam hates my guts and we both know it." She probably hated her even more now for breaking Eric's heart. "Thanks for trying, though."

Eric made a small huffing sound. "Pam is my progeny and you are the woman I love, which means I plan to have _both_ of you around for quite some time," he told her patiently, sounding very much like he'd said these words before. Most likely to the very vampire they were currently speaking of. "It will make everything much easier for everyone if you and Pam learned how to get along."

"I _tried _to make nice with Pam the first time around," Paige reminded him, her tone equally patient. "She never exactly brought out the welcome wagon whenever I came around, Eric."

A sigh of resignation sounded in her ear. "I know," he admitted. "I will talk with her and tell her to at least _attempt_ to be nicer to you," he then reassured her. For a moment Paige was reminded of all the times in the past when she and Eric had had discussions just like this one. Whenever she and Pam found themselves at odds with one another – which was frequent – Eric always seemed to wind up in the middle playing the role of reluctant and, often times, _annoyed _mediator. Silly as it may seem, it was somewhat comforting to know that at least _one _thing hadn't changed over the past year or so.

"Thank you." Paige looked at her watch, saw how late she was to meet with Wes, then cursed under her breath. "I hate to say goodbye, but I really should get inside. I was supposed to meet with Wes almost twenty minutes ago," she said, her tone filled with regret. "Should I expect you sometime tonight?" Paige then asked, feeling hopeful in spite of her own nerves.

"Nothing in this world could keep me from you tonight," Eric promised her, his voice taking on that same husky tone again.

Well, that was all the answer _she _needed. "Okay," Paige said, sucking in a deep breath to calm her suddenly racing nerves. "I'll let you know whenever Wes and I are finished here." She paused for a moment as Eric made a sound of understanding, a smile pulling at her lips. "And Eric?"

"Yes?" He asked.

"I love you."

There was another heavy sigh in her ear, only this one sounded much more content. "I cannot possibly describe how it feels to hear you say those words again," Eric said lowly, his husky voice making a shiver dance along her spine. "I love you, too, Paige." The declaration made her grin. "I will see you soon. Tell your brother I said hello."

"I will. Bye," Paige said, before reluctantly ending the call.

For a moment she simply stood there and pressed her phone to her heart, thinking about the handsome vampire simply biding his time back in Shreveport. It was still mind-boggling, how drastically things had changed between them in such a short span of time. This time last week, Eric had still hated her and she had still be alone, work-obsessed, and doing her best not to hate _herself_ for losing the only man – or rather, vampire – she'd ever loved; now they were only a day away from starting a new, domesticated life together in Shreveport and were back to exchanging, '_I love you_'s.

Paige didn't know what she had done to deserve the good turn her life had taken recently, but she thanked her lucky stars anyway for bringing Eric Northman back into her life.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late," Paige said with a huff as she took the seat across from her brother.

Westin Collins quirked a brow in response, looking a little skeptical. Appearance wise, she and her brother didn't look very much alike. Where she had red hair, pale skin, and blue eyes, courtesy of their father's Irish heritage, Wes' hair was dark blonde, his skin tanned to a sun-kissed brown, and bright green eyes, from their mother's German heritage. Whenever they went out together in public they were often mistaken for a couple – at first it had bothered them and they'd had a strict rule to always keep an arm's length distance between them, but by now they were so used to it that they just politely corrected whoever mistook the nature of their relationship and moved on.

"You weren't late," he corrected with a smirk, "I've been watching you stand outside and talk on the phone for the last ten minutes." Paige cringed, knowing she'd been caught. "Here," Wes said, pushing one of the two pilsner-sized beers that he'd already ordered toward her. "That's yours."

"Thanks," Paige responded gratefully, grabbing the beer and taking a drink.

"So, judging by the sappy look on your face just now it must have been _the boyfriend _you were talking to," Wes commented as he too took a sip of his drink.

Paige quirked a brow at the tone he used when he said '_the boyfriend'_. "As a matter of fact, it was," she confirmed matter-of-factly. "He had just woken up and was checking in. He also wanted me to tell you hello for him," she added, pointedly raising her brows and silently suggesting with her eyes that since Eric was playing nice, then _he_ should too.

Either Wes didn't get the hint, or he did and chose to ignore it. "If he wanted to say hello, he could have done it face-to-face," Wes shot back haughtily, not taking her by surprise with the gleam of slight annoyance in his eyes. "It's the least he could do, seeing as he's stealing my baby sister away."

When she had dated Eric the first time, Wes had been one of the select few people she had told about their relationship. Being the protective older brother that he was, he hadn't been overly thrilled about her being with a vampire. But he had trusted her not to do anything that would wind up with her hurt or in trouble. Now, however, things were a little different. The fact that Paige was leaving their family and hometown behind to live with a boyfriend, vampire or what have you, that Wes had never even met or spoken to was greatly bothering him, especially so since it was such a sudden decision. Call him old fashioned, but he thought it disrespectful that this was the _second _time they had dated and Eric _still_ had not yet come to speak with him, vampire to man, about his intentions for Paige.

"He wanted to come," Paige defended Eric at once. "I'm serious, he did!" She reiterated when Wes narrowed his eyes, looking thoroughly unconvinced. "He wants to meet you, I promise. It was _me _who told him not to come tonight."

Now Wes' eyebrows furrowed together with curiosity. "Why?" He asked, sounding confused.

"Because…" Paige said with a wave of her hand. When that proved to be a not good enough answer, she continued. "We _just _got back together, Wes, and our relationship is kind of fragile. We've put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make things right between us and forgive everything that happened in the past. The last thing we need to do is add even _more _pressure by throwing family into the mix," Paige explained.

"So what you're saying," Wes said after thinking her words over for a moment, "is that you don't want to introduce him to the family yet in case things go tits up again?"

Paige loved her brother dearly, but sometimes she _really _wanted to smack him. "That is _not _what I'm saying. Not even close," she said as patiently as she could, giving him her sternest look. Wes opened his mouth to say something else, but Paige held a hand up to silence him. "Eric and I have had our fair share of issues, but things are gonna be different this time around," she insisted. "When the time feels right, I'll be happy to bring him around the family. Until then, it's just gonna be me and him."

"Alright then," Wes heaved, throwing a hand up in defeat. "But for the record," he added, pointing a finger at her, "I'm still not all that happy about this. And you can tell that boyfriend of yours that if wants _my _approval, he's gonna have to bring his happy ass all the way to my front doorstep to ask for it like a man…vampire…_whatever_," he finished with authority.

Having already been painfully aware of how Wes felt about her move to Shreveport, Paige wasn't the least bit surprised to hear him say this. Part of her was starting to feel a bit annoyed with him for being so adamant about not approving of Eric and wanted to tell him to stop being so hardheaded about all of this. But, at the same time, she knew he was only being this way because he loved her and was worried that she'd end up getting her heart broken. He was her brother, her _protective _older brother at that – it was hard to be mad at him when he was just looking out for her.

"I love you, too, Wes," Paige said, sending him a sickly sweet smile over the rim of her glass.

"Yeah, yeah," he said with a begrudging expression on his face, before taking a large drink of his beer.

"And for the record," she added with a smirk, echoing his words, "if you ever meet any vampires, it'd be very wise on your part not to let them hear you say anything like that. They don't take so well to humans giving them attitude."

Wes shot her an unintimidated look. "Duly noted," he said flatly.

They decided to shelve the topic of Eric after that and spent the next three hours eating way too many chicken wings, drinking more beer than they probably should have, and talking about anything and everything that came to mind. It was nice, just sitting around sharing a few beers and shooting the shit with her brother, especially since it wasn't often they got to do things like this. If Paige wasn't up to her eyeballs in work from the C.A.V.D., then Wes was swamped at the restaurant he co-owned with a friend of his or busy spending time with his live-in girlfriend. Their schedules were always so busy that it nearly took an act of congress for them to have a brother-sister outing.

She and Wes hadn't always gotten along – Lord knows they had fought like the absolute _dickens _when they were in their awkward, pre-teen years – but now, in adulthood, they were closer than they had ever been. Paige knew she could go to Wes for advice about nearly everything, and vice versa; when things had fallen apart with Eric, it had been _Wes_' shoulder that she had cried her grief out on. They weren't just brother and sister, they were _friends_. And it was only now, as she had the last drinks she'd share with him for a long while, that she realized just how badly she was going to miss him.

"You know something?" Paige asked, propping her chin up with her hand and looking to Wes with sad eyes. "I'm really gonna miss your ugly mug."

Wes sent her a small, lopsided smile, but there was sadness in his eyes, too. "I'm gonna miss you, too. But I'll only be a phone call away, you know that," he reassured her with a nod. "And, if push comes to shove, Shreveport is only, what? Four, maybe five hours away?" Wes blew a raspberry with his lips and waved a dismissive hand. "That drive's a piece'a cake," he said with a grin.

Paige instantly felt her spirits lift and smiled brightly. He was right. She was only moving to _Shreveport, _for Pete's sake – she'd made the drive enough times in the past to know that if she wanted to come visit her family for a weekend, it wouldn't be much trouble at all. Even less so if Eric came with her and was able to _fly_ them to Houston instead. "Well, you're always welcome in my home, big brother…so long as you don't mind sleeping under the same roof as a vampire," she added with a smirk.

Wes pulled a face, but in his intoxicated state the look wasn't as potent as usual. "Eh, we'll see what happens," he said, making her heave and roll her eyes good-naturedly before finishing her beer.

"Alright, Westin," she said, making him cringe at the use of his full name. Whenever someone called him '_Westin'_ instead of '_Wes'_, it was usually because he had done something to get himself in trouble. "It's almost ten o'clock, I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow, and if we drink anymore I'm gonna hate myself for it tomorrow – not to mention I still have packing to do," she said with a note of regret. "Hate to be the party pooper, but I think it's time we called it a night." She chose not to mention that Eric was going to come over, thinking it would look bad if Wes knew Eric was in town and _still _made no attempt to meet him.

Wes agreed that it was time to wrap things up, and within five minutes they had paid the bill – Wes insisted on taking care of the check in spite of Paige's protests – and were heading out of the restaurant. As they walked Wes dropped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, giving her a squeeze before loosening his hold again. Paige smiled up at him and wrapped an arm around his waist, returning the casual embrace as they made for the exit.

They left the restaurant arm-in-arm and started across the parking lot, headed toward Paige's car first. It was dark out now, but the air was still warm and humid from the day's sun. Several groups of people were scattered here or there, emerging from cars in the parking lot as they arrived for dinner or walking out of nearby retail shops with bagged purchases in their hands. She and Wes skirted around a slow-moving old couple, waited patiently for a car to pass by, then continued on to Paige's car.

As they walked along, the sensation of being watched suddenly crept up Paige's spine. Confused, she craned her neck some and glanced around, looking to see if anyone in the parking lot was paying her and Wes extra attention. Though there were several people about, nobody seemed to be paying them any mind. With one last check of the parking lot, Paige decided she was just being paranoid and chalked it up to having one too many beers.

She and Wes finally released each other as they reached her car. Paige immediately opened her purse to retrieve her keys, glancing at her phone in the process and feeling a surge of excitement – as soon as she was in the car she was going to text Eric and let him know she was heading home; with how fast he could travel, he'd probably beat her there.

"So Gary and I are leaving around noon tomorrow," Paige explained, looking up to Wes again once her keys were in hand. "You gonna swing by before we head out?"

"Yeah, I'll come by. Bring you breakfast or something," Wes said with a nod.

It was only then that she realized his brows were furrowed together pensively, a serious frown turning the corners of his mouth downward. Paige knew that look; there was something weighing on Wes' mind. Just as she was about to ask him what was bothering him, however, Wes spoke up again. "There's one more thing I wanna ask you, then I'm gonna drop the subject for good," he said bluntly, letting her immediately know that this had something to do with Eric.

"Okay…," she said slowly, unsure where this was headed.

Wes hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure you're making the right choice by moving in with Eric? I mean, have you _really _thought about this, Paige?"

Paige looked at Wes for a moment, then sighed. "Of _course _I've thought about this," she gently insisted.

"It's just..." Wes trailed off with a heave. "This all happened really fast, you know?" He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit that they both had inherited from their father. "I'm worried, is all," he admitted aloud. "You're my baby sister. I don't wanna see you get hurt."

Paige smiled and reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "I know you don't. And you're right – this did happen really fast, especially considering the circumstances," she agreed, knowing it was the truth. "But the bottom line is that Eric and I are in love. It may seem rash to leave everything I know behind to be with him, but…to _me_, it feels…_right_," she explained earnestly, beseeching him with her eyes to understand. "It might be harder than I expected and, hell, who knows? Maybe I _will _get my heart broken in the end," she added, even though she _sincerely_ hoped that _wouldn't _be the case. "But I still love him and I _have_ to try to make this work with him. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't."

Wes' face was full of skepticism as he thought her words over for a long few moments, but, finally, his expression relaxed and he slowly nodded his head. "Alright," he conceded. "If you believe it's the right thing to do…then you've got my support."

Paige smiled with relief, then promptly pulled Wes into a hug to express her gratitude. He returned the embrace and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. "You can't protect me from the world, you know," she reminded him gently.

"I can damn well try," Wes countered, making her smile again. Though he might be stubborn, a little _too _outspoken, and, every now and again, a bit annoying – okay, a _lot _annoying – he had a good heart and was always there for her. Paige knew she was damn lucky to have Wes as a brother.

"Well," Paige said as they finally released each other, "between you and Eric, I don't think I'm gonna have to worry about my safety any time soon. Nobody's gonna be able to get through you two," she joked, play punching Wes in the shoulder in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"At least vampire boyfriends and protective older brothers are good for something, right?" He said with a smirk, making Paige laugh a bit. Wes then ruffled her hair a bit before leaning down to place a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. "I'll see you tomorrow, sis," he said, stepping away from her and fishing his keys out of his pocket. "Drive safe, okay?"

"Yeah, you too," she said in return, to which he nodded and waved a hand to let her know he would. "Goodnight," Paige called after him as he headed off.

"Night," Wes called back, before disappearing around a car.

Paige turned back to her car and unlocked the driver's side door before sliding into the seat. As soon as she closed and locked the door behind her, she dug into her purse for her cell phone to let Eric know she was on her way home. The bittersweet feeling that had encompassed her the whole of the night quickly began to fade away, replaced by anticipation at the prospect of being in Eric's arms and feeling his lips against hers again. Feeling even more excited to see him under the influence of alcohol, her fingers couldn't grab hold of the device fast enough.

Unfortunately, her excitement was dashed the moment she saw the text message that had been waiting for her. It was from Eric, and he'd sent it nearly a half-hour ago. _Emergency at the club. Will be late, if able to come at all. Do not wait up for me, you have a long drive tomorrow. Will make it up to you, I promise. – E_

Paige sighed dejectedly, feeling her happiness rapidly deflate. An emergency at his cherished vampire bar was a perfectly good reason for Eric to stay in Shreveport, but she still couldn't help the disappointment she felt knowing she probably wouldn't be seeing Eric after all. "So much for nothing in the world stopping him tonight," she murmured to herself as she quickly typed out a response. _I understand, and there's nothing to make up for. Hope the emergency isn't too serious…be careful anyway, okay? Love you. _

Paige pressed send, then put her phone back in her purse. Then, after buckling her seatbelt and starting her car, she pulled out of her parking spot and drove out of the parking lot, turning onto the main road before speeding off in the direction of her townhouse.

* * *

He watched as the black Honda pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared down the road. Immediately he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, dialed a number at vampire speed, then pressed the phone to his ear. It rang only once before someone picked up.

"What?" Snapped an impatient voice upon answering.

He was unphased by her temperament, having grown well-accustomed to it by now. "I found her," he stated bluntly, knowing this would change her mood at once.

"The human?" She asked, and sure enough, all of the impatience evaporated from her tone in an instant. "Are you sure it's her?"

"Positive," he answered with a firm nod.

"Is it true, then?" She pried insistently, almost with a sort of hungry expectation.

"Yes," he said. "The human is his. I heard her speaking with her brother about it."

Laughter filled his ear, though it was hard to tell if it was out of amusement or triumph. "So Eric Northman _actually _has himself a human plaything that he's kept a secret all this time," she mused aloud, sounding mighty pleased with the situation. "That sort of information will most _certainly _come in handy."

"She seems like more than just a plaything," he commented as he remembered the conversation he'd eavesdropped on. The human had said the word 'love' more than once and, according to what he'd heard, was about to be moving states to be with him. He wasn't overly familiar with monogamous human-vampire relationship, but that sounded like something a little more serious to him. "I think Eric Northman and this human are serious. She mentioned plans to move in with him."

"Even better," she responded, sounding positively gleeful now. "You stay there tonight and keep an eye on her, see what else you can learn," she then proceeded to instruct, talking swiftly in her excitement. "If Northman shows at any point, make sure he doesn't discover you. I don't want him knowing that we know about his little girlfriend…not _yet_ anyway."

"Understood," he answered, before the line promptly went dead. After clicking his phone shut and stuffing it back into his pocket, he then took off in the direction the human had gone, disappearing from the spot he'd just been standing in the blink of an eye.

* * *

It was nearly two in the morning before Paige was finally sliding into bed and settling down for her very last night in her quaint little townhouse. She'd spent the rest of the evening packing up the last of her belongings and congregating all the boxes near the back door so that everything would be ready to go the next day. Then, she'd cracked open her last bottle of wine and had a few drinks to wind down, celebrate the end of an era, and say her goodbyes to the townhouse that had served her so well.

Paige turned onto her side and snuggled into her pillow, sighing with contentment as her body fully relaxed for the first time that day. It always took a little longer for her brain to turn itself off for the night, so for a handful of minutes she simply laid there and thought about everything she'd done that day and everything she'd have to do the next, as though going through a mental checklist. Eventually, her thoughts started clear and her body began to feel heavy with the approach of sleep.

She was just on the verge of drifting off into the dream world when a buzzing sound on her nightstand yanked her abruptly back to reality. Surprised by the unexpected noise, Paige jumped before groping for the phone. Opening one eye to peer at the phone and see who was calling her, she sighed before accepting the call.

"Hey," Paige answered quietly, letting her eye slide closed again.

"I was hoping I wouldn't wake you," Eric said, sounding as though he felt guilty for interrupting her sleep…or rather, was _trying _to sound as though he felt guilty, anyway.

"Liar," she accused with a tired smile. "We both know you called because you were hoping I'd tell you to come over if you woke me up."

"Well, if we're being honest…" Eric trailed off suggestively, not sounding so remorseful now.

Paige smiled again, suddenly wishing that he was there snuggling with her in bed instead of sitting in his office in Fangtasia, which was probably where he was judging by the distant pump of music she could hear in the background. Then again, even she couldn't deny that if Eric _had _come over and found his way into her bed, snuggling was probably the _last _thing they would have been doing. Maybe it was better that he had stayed in Louisiana after all. "Everything okay at the club?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, everything is fine now," Eric reassured her, though he opted not to go into detail about whatever had happened. "Forgive me for having to cancel our plans tonight. I would have much rather come to see you," he said, sounding as though he meant it.

"It's alright," Paige said around a wide yawn. "I know how important the club is to you. Work is gonna come before me from time to time and I'm okay with that." Especially since she knew that once she had started working at the Shreveport branch of the C.A.V.D., there were most certainly going to be times where _her _work came before Eric.

"Thank you for understanding." Paige tried and failed to hold back another yawn, growing more tired by the second as Eric's smooth, slightly gravelly voice relaxed her and lured her further toward sleep. "You sound exhausted," Eric commented, obviously hearing her yawn.

"It was a long day," she explained, nestling further into her sheets and adjusting her pillow in an attempt to make herself more comfortable. It worked a little bit, but Paige would have much preferred to have Eric in bed beside her and his long arms holding her in his protective embrace. "I wish you were here," she said before she could stop herself.

"Do not tempt me more than I already am," Eric warned, his voice dropping a bit. "I'm trying to be a good boy and behave myself so that you can get your rest for tomorrow."

Paige had to smirk. "Since when are _you _a good boy, Eric Northman?" Because she could remember _plenty _of times in the past when Eric had absolutely _not_ behaved himself and kept her up until the wee hours of the morning, regardless of whether she had important obligations the next day or not. Not that Paige had ever minded…

"It's a recent development," he answered with a husky laugh.

"Well, we'll just see how long _that_ lasts," she couldn't help but tease.

"Not very, if you keep speaking like that," Eric warned again.

Paige let out a small laugh, then sighed sleepily. "I really should go to sleep," she told him with regret. "I have a busy day tomorrow and I'm gonna need all the energy I can get."

"Yes, you should," Eric agreed, albeit reluctantly so. "What time will you arrive?"

"Probably around six or seven, depending on how many stops we make and how much longer the drive takes in a U-Haul truck," Paige estimated. "I'll let you know when we're close."

"Alright. I will send you the address so you know exactly where to go," Eric offered helpfully.

"That's okay, I remember how to get to Fangtasia," she reassured him. Having driven there more times than she could count in the past, Paige didn't think she'd have any trouble remembering the way there.

"I have no doubt you do, but it isn't Fangtasia you'll be going to tomorrow," he countered mysteriously, catching her attention and making her brows furrow with curiosity.

"Where exactly will I be going, then?" Paige asked with a hint of excitement, a small smile pulling at her lips.

Eric, however, wasn't going to give in that easily. "You will see when you get there," he answered vaguely. She started to ask more prying questions, curious to know more about this apparent surprise, but Eric beat her to the punch. "Sleep well, _min fireytema kvinna_," he said, speaking before she could get a word in. Paige couldn't stop her heart from melting a little at hearing the pet name he'd always loved to refer to her as. "I very much look forward to seeing you again."

Paige huffed a bit, but didn't bother trying to weasel more information out of him. It wouldn't be any use anyway – Eric was _very _good at keeping a secret when he wanted to. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Paige conceded.

"I love you," Eric said, bringing a smile to her face.

"I love you, too," she was happy to say in return.

"Goodnight."

"Night."

Paige hesitated for a second, then finally pulled the phone away from her ear and ended the call. With a sigh, she placed the phone back on her nightstand and then settled back down, a small smile playing on her lips. She would admit that she'd had a few worries about moving in with Eric so soon after getting back together, but right now, as Eric's last declaration of love echoed in her ears, she was hard pressed to remember what they were. If there was one thing she knew, it was that she would _never _get tired of hearing Eric Northman tell her that he loved her – and after tomorrow, she'd be hearing him say it face to face rather than over the phone.

The thought made her smile wider, and with another contented sigh Paige snuggled into her pillow. This time tomorrow, she'd be in Louisiana with Eric and starting an entirely new chapter of her life. What this new adventure had in store for them, Paige couldn't know. But so long as Eric was by her side, she knew she would be able to face _anything _the world had to throw at her. And it was with that optimistic thought in mind that Paige finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: So…let's have a chat. **

**In case you aren't familiar, after I finished ****_'Return to Me'_**** some years back I actually did start and post a sequel. But for reasons that I can't really remember now, I lost interest in the show after the third season and stopped watching altogether, which eventually made me lose interest in the sequel as well. After neglecting it for a long time, I finally just decided to delete it and close the book on the True Blood chapter. **

**Now, fast forward four years. I had been tossing around the idea of doing a rewrite for ****_'Return to Me' _****for a while. I'd always had a soft spot for it and didn't want to delete it, but I wasn't happy with the quality of it either. So I figured that if I was going to keep it posted for people to read, I should make it a ****_good _****read. Doing that suddenly made me want to watch the show again. I started over from the very beginning and immediately remembered why I had loved True Blood so much – mostly because of Eric Northman, but that's beside the point. Before I knew it, I was re-hooked. And, of course, as soon as I got to season three, ideas for a sequel started flooding my head.**

**I'll admit I've been trying to resist writing this story. Not only am I behind on my other ones, but I've spent the last four years telling the countless readers who've messaged me pleading for a sequel that it was never going to happen – what if nobody is even into this story anymore? I held off for a while, but the story kept nagging at me and ****_nagging _****at me…so I've finally given in. I don't know how far this will go, but I'm having fun writing for True Blood again, so anything is possible! **

**Anyway, that's that. I hope you guys liked the first chapter and I hope you guys are happy I decided to continue with the story. I might have taken Eric a little OOC, but trust me, there's a method to my madness. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but until then, don't be afraid to leave feedback!**

**Carrot Top**


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